Surge in R&D spend between 2015 and ’17

Surge in R&D spend between 2015 and ’17

Dr Nora Khaldi

Almost €2.8bn was spent on research and development (R&D) by businesses in Ireland in each of 2017 and 2018 – up 24pc from two years earlier.

In 2017, Irish-owned enterprises reported an increase in R&D spend of 6pc to €859m – from €810m in 2015 when then Finance Minister Michael Noonan introduced tax breaks for R&D known as the Knowledge Development Box.

Please log in or register with Independent.ie for free access to this article.

The latest data, based on a survey by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) includes estimates for spending last year that indicate a tapering off with investment rising only slightly between 2017 and 2018.

Firms employing 250 or more account for almost two thirds of R&D expenditure as big businesses dominated investment. The 2017 figures show labour costs accounted for 60pc of all R&D spend.

However, firms with fewer than 50 staff still spent almost €425m, reflecting the emergence of a cohort of smaller, often indigenous, research-led businesses backed by venture capital which, in some cases, is now being attracted at scale.

In March, Irish scientist Nora Khaldi of Dublin-based biotech company Nuritas delivered a keynote address at the European Investment Bank’s Venture Debt Conference in Luxembourg, after last year securing €30m to support development of artificial intelligence and DNA analysis for applications in healthcare.